New Zealand (in 500 words or less)

250 words per island? Let’s go!

South Island:

Let’s start with a 12.5 hour flight to Auckland, from San Francisco, followed by a 2-hour layover, before boarding a 2-hour flight to Queenstown, the gateway to adventure in the South Island. Some activities for your consideration: Queenstown Hill Walking Track, Skyline Luge, Queenstown Gardens, a day trip to Milford Sound (actually, a fjord, and worth the 12-hour roundtrip), and, most importantly, a visit to one of the fine Ferg establishments: Ferg Bakery, Ferg Burger, and Ferg Bar – in that order, of course! The lines at Ferg Burger are legendary, and it probably did not help that I was there during peak holiday season. The solution: visit Ferg Burger at 7am on a Sunday morning. I ordered a steak, blue cheese and mushroom pie at the Bakery and a “basic” burger next door. A few more ideas: rent a car in Queenstown and drive to Dunedin, a gritty, but charming, city on the southeast coast, and home to the University of Otago, Larnach Castle, and Yellow-Eyed (Hoiho) and Little Blue (Korora) Penguins. Along the way, stop at Arrowtown (an old mining town), Kawarau Bridge (where bungee jumping started), Carrick Winery (for a bone dry pinot noir or pinot gris), and maybe a fruit stand or two, for orchard fresh local peaches and cherries.

North Island:

Hop on a flight from Dunedin to Auckland. Some activities to consider: hike Mount Eden, visit the Auckland War Memorial Museum, explore Devonport, a 12-minute ferry ride from downtown Auckland, and hike North Head Summit; be the first (almost) on the planet to celebrate the New Year, with a fireworks display from the 328-meter Sky Tower. From Auckland, rent a car and drive to Kerikeri, with an optional stop at a glow-worm cave. In Kerikeri, hike Rainbow Falls or perhaps drive to Paihia, a sleepy seaside town on the Bay of Islands (which is just that), and swim in clear, turquoise, and relatively warm waters. Stop at one of the local orchards for huge, perfectly ripe and priced (NZD $1) avocados. Kerikeri has to be one of the most chill spots on the planet. Did I mention the farmer’s market on Saturday mornings? From Kerikeri, head back south, past Auckland, to Hamilton, home base for day trips to Rotorua and Hobbiton, but on the drive, typically 4-5 hours, but in our case closer to 7, challenge yourself, due to the closure of the primary road, with a 12-kilometer unpaved road, nominally two lanes, one in each direction, but sometimes one, with narrow bridges, and the occasional milk tank truck or car towing an RV driving in the opposite direction, and causing you to, at best, scratch your head, if your hands were not glued to the steering wheel. On the way back, stop and stretch your legs at the Auckland Botanic Gardens, before the 12-hour flight off the island and back to the real world.